An auction of the last sail-driven tanker to clear the 141-year-old ship from its berth at Honolulu Harbor failed to find any qualified bidders.
The Hawaii Department of Transportation Harbors Division attempted to sell the four-masted Falls of Clyde at the end of last week to make way for plans to rebuild the dock where it is berthed for modern container terminals to be used by Matson and TOTE Maritime.
The port authorities were trying to remove the unique but decaying tall ship by June this year, ahead of the hurricane season, after three attempts to move it by a group hoping to renovate it failed.
Three options left
Hawaii now appears to have three options left to achieve its aims, according to local sources — either to sell the vessel, donate it to a government agency or otherwise remove it, probably locally for scrap.
Only one spoof bid for 25 cents, claiming to be from Vladimir Putin, was offered at the auction, which required a $1.5m bond to be placed guaranteeing the ship would be removed within 60 days.
Preservation organisation Save Falls of Clyde International has been trying to bring the iron-hulled Falls of Clyde back to Scotland. It was built at Port Glasgow on Clydeside by AE Russell in 1878 and converted in 1907 to carry molasses and oil.
Save Falls of Clyde director David O’Neill says on the campaign’s Facebook page that he has again written to the Harbors department to say it still hopes to work with the authorities to find a solution to return the ship to Scotland.
He says he hopes to visit Honolulu to outline its proposals and details of heavylift ship contracts being offered.
The organisation hopes to sail the ship again after renovation with plans for cadet training and adventure holidays, carrying fair trade cargoes, collecting ocean plastic and conducting scientific research.
The ship was open as a public museum for many years in Honolulu with the port supporting the local charity Friends of Falls of Clyde by not charging fees for its berth from April 2009 to August 2016, when the Harbors Division served notice that it had to be moved.
